Course Schedule

Here is an outline of the expected structure of the course. This is the second time that I have taught the course with this textbook, so I do have some faith in the schedule. Still, I do expect to adjust the speed to the needs of a specific class population so that it is likely to be fairly accurate at first and to get steadily less and less tied to reality the further out into the future you go. I hope to revise this from time to time as reality becomes clearer.

Note the abbreviation used in the readings:

Week: Topics Readings Laboratory
0: 8/25 Complex Number Review    

1:
8/28-9/1

Light from wave to particle

T 1.1-1.4

Diffraction &
Interference

2:
9/4-8

Theory of diffraction and interference

T 1.5-1.8

Interferometer &
Single-Photon
3:
9/11-15

Atom interference and Schrödinger's Equations

T 2.1-2.5

Photoelectric
4:
9/18-22

Wave Packets and Heisenberg

T 2.6-2.9

Electron Diffraction
5:
9/25-9/29

Solving Schrödinger's equation, the infinite square well, eigenvalues and eigenfunctions

 T 3 Mid-term Exam I
6:
10/2-6

Schrödinger for bound systems

 T 4.1-4.5

Compton & Nuclear
7:
10/9-11

Schrödinger for unbound systems

 T 4.6-4.7 No Lab
Short week.
Fall Break 10/13-16
8:
10/16-20		 Operators and Uncertainties
The tools of quantum mechanics		 T 5.1-4 Numeric Schrödinger
9:
10/23-27		 3D Schrödinger, 3D box and rigid rotor T 5.5-5.6
T 6.1-6.2		 X-Rays
10:
10/30-11/3		 The hydrogen atom T6.3-6.5 Mid-Term Exam II
11:
11/6-10

Identical particles, multi-electron atoms

 T 7.1-7.3 Hydrogen Spectrum
12:
11/13-17

Quantum statics, solids, Planck, Lasers

 T7 Atoms in a spreadsheet
Thanksgiving 11/19-27
13:
11/27-12/1		   TBA Blackbody 1
14:
12/4-8		   TBA Blackbody 2
12/13
Final Exam Wednesday 7:00-10:00 pm

 

Physics 290